tl;dr - MIT is forcing students to download spyware to proctor us for exams. We must stand up to this extreme break of privacy and personal security vulnerability. 

MIT has started using software called ProctorTrack to proctor online exams. It is already being used for first years who are taking ASEs and who also feel less comfortable complaining.

ProctorTrack is downloaded to each student's personal computer, where it is given access to all files, to your webcam, to your microphone, to your keystrokes and to control and view your screen.

It then learns your biometric keystroking signature and watches you while you take the exam to guess if you are cheating. The video of you taking your exam is saved and if any strange behavior (such as looking away from the screen or typing strangely) it sends the video, sound and screen recording of you to your instructor to decide whether you were cheating.

Students at universities where ProctorTrack has already been used have even complained to their administrations that their machines have been hacked through the system. Furthermore, even the biggest of tech companies have been hacked recently (google 2020 Twitter Hack), even if we can trust ProctorTrack (which we have no reason to), we can't trust the hackers of the world not to try and get in their systems.

MIT will tell you that they have a legal agreement that ProctorTrack can only store our recordings and details for a certain amount of time, but this has no impact on whether outside players could hack our systems, and we have no idea who works for ProctorTrack and who there can access our private files.

We must stand up against this extreme invasion of privacy. There is no reason instructors can't proctor us through Zoom, watching us live, just like in a regular exam or if they are worried about cheating then just give assignments instead.

I will not allow MIT or some 3rd party I don't trust free access to my computer. Will you?